SPACE

FRAME

BY:ABHISHEK GOELAMAN NEGIJYOTI AHLAWATPRADEEP VERMASAJIDA SHAHNUMSONALI JAINTSERING CHOEZOM

•A TRUSS-LIKE, LIGHTWEIGHT RIGID STRUCTURE CONSTRUCTED FROM

INTERLOCKING STRUTS IN A GEOMETRIC PATTERN.

•SPACE FRAMES CAN BE USED TO SPAN LARGE AREAS WITH FEW INTERIOR

SUPPORTS.

•A SPACE FRAME IS STRONG BECAUSE OF

• A SPACE FRAME IS STRONG BECAUSE OF :

• THE INHERENT RIGIDITY OF THE TRIANGLE;

• FLEXING LOADS (BENDING MOMENTS) ARE TRANSMITTED AS TENSION

AND COMPRESSION LOADS ALONG THE LENGTH OF EACH STRUT.

SPACE FRAME OR SPACE STRUCTURE:

LOAD DISTRIBUTION

•STRONGER FORM IS COMPOSED OF INTERLOCKING TETRAHEDRA IN WHICH ALL THE STRUTS HAVE

UNIT LENGTH.

•MORE TECHNICALLY THIS IS REFERRED TO AS

AN ISOTROPIC VECTOR MATRIX OR IN A SINGLE

UNIT WIDTH AN OCTET TRUSS.

•MORE COMPLEX VARIATIONS CHANGE THE LENGTHS OF THE STRUTS

TO CURVE THE OVER ALL STRUCTURE OR MAY INCORPORATE OTHER

GEOMETRICAL SHAPES.

•HORIZONTAL SLAB OF INTERLOCKING SQUARE, PYRAMIDS AND TETRAHEDRA BUILT FROM ALUMINIUM OR TUBULAR STEEL STRUTS.

•SPACE FRAMES WERE INDEPENDENTLY DEVELOPED BY ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL AROUND

1900 .

•BELL'S INTEREST WAS PRIMARILY IN USING THEM TO MAKE RIGID FRAMES FOR NAUTICAL AND

AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING, WITH THE TETRAHEDRAL TRUSS BEING ONE OF HIS INVENTIONS,

HOWEVER FEW OF HIS DESIGNS WERE REALIZED.

•BUCKMINSTERFULLERINTHE1950S DEVELOPED FRAMES INDEPENDENTLY, FULLER'S FOCUS WAS

ARCHITECTURALSTRUCTURES AND HIS WORK HAD GREATER INFLUENCE.

HISTORY OF EVOLUTION

1900

1950

BUCKMINISTERFULLER GEODESIC DOME GRAHAMBELL SPACE FRAME DESIGN

•PLATFORM OR OVERHEAD STRUCTURE THAT SPANS LARGE DISTANCES WITHOUT NEED FOR

INTERNAL LOADBEARINGS UPPORT.

•IN THE PAST FEW DECADES, THE SPREAD OF SPACE FRAME WAS MAINLY DUE TO ITS GREAT

STRUCTURAL POTENTIAL AND VISUAL BEAUTY . NEW AND IMAGINATIVE APPLICATIONS OF SPACE

FRAMES ARE BEING DEMONSTRATED IN THE TOTAL RANGE OF BUILDING TYPES,LIKE:

•SPORTS ARENAS

•EXHIBITION PAVILIONS

•ASSEMBLY HALLS

•TRANSPORTATION TERMINALS

•AIRPLANE HANGARS

•WORKSHOPS, AND WAREHOUSES ENCLOSURES

APPLICATIONS

•MANY INTERESTING PROJECTS HAVE BEEN DESIGNED AND CONSTRUCTEDALL OVER THE

WORLD USING A VARIETY OF CONFIGURATIONS

•LIGHTWEIGHT -THIS IS MAINLY DUE TO THE FACT THAT MATERIAL IS DISTRIBUTED

SPATIALLY IN SUCH A WAY THAT THE LOAD TRANSFER MECHANISM IS PRIMARILY AXIAL;

TENSION OR COMPRESSION. CONSEQUENTLY, ALL MATERIAL IN ANY GIVEN ELEMENT IS

UTILIZED TO ITS FULL EXTENT. FURTHERMORE, MOST SPACE FRAMES ARE NOW CONSTRUCTED

WITH ALUMINUM, WHICH DECREASES CONSIDERABLY THEIR SELF-WEIGHT.

• MASS PRODUCTIVITY-SPACE FRAMES CAN BE BUILT FROM SIMPLE

PREFABRICATED UNITS,WHICH ARE OFTEN OF STANDARD SIZE AND SHAPE. SUCH UNITS CAN

BE EASILY TRANSPORTED AND RAPIDLY ASSEMBLED ON SITE BY SEMI-SKILLED

LABOR.CONSEQUENTLY,SPACE FRAMES CAN BE BUILT AT A LOWER COST.

•STIFFNESS-A SPACE FRAME IS USUALLY SUFFICIENTLY STIFF IN SPITE OF ITS LIGHTNESS. THIS IS

DUE TO ITS THREE- DIMENSIONAL CHARACTER AND TO THE FULL PARTICIPATION OF ITS

CONSTITUENT ELEMENTS.

•VERSATILITY -SPACE FRAMES POSSESS A VERSATILITY OF SHAPE AND FORM AND CAN

UTILIZE A STANDARD MODULE TO GENERATE VARIOUS FLAT SPACE GRIDS,LATTICED

SHELL, OR EVEN FREE-FORM SHAPES. ARCHITECTS APPRECIATE THE VISUAL BEAUTY AND

THE IMPRESSIVE SIMPLICITY OF LINES IN SPACE FRAMES

ADVANTAGES

•A SPACE FRAMES ALONG-SPANNING THREE-DIMENSIONAL PLATE STRUCTURE BASED ON THE

RIGIDITY OF THE TRIANGLE AND COMPOSED OF LINEAR ELEMENTS SUBJECT ONLY TO AXIAL TENSION

OR COMPRESSION, EVEN IN THE CASE OF CONNECTION BY COMPARATIVELY RIGID JOINTS, THE

INFLUENCE OF BENDING OR TORSIONAL MOMENT IS INSIGNIFICANT.

STRUCTURAL BACKGROUND

THE FORCES ARE ACT ONLY ALONG THE AXIS OF

THE MEMBERS ARE HAVING TENSION OF

COMPRESSION.

EACH MEMBER IS ACTED UPON BY TWO EQUAL

AND OPPOSITE FORCES HAVING LINE OF ACTION

ALONG THE CENTRE OF MEMBERS I.E. EVERY

MEMBER OF IT IS TWO FORCE MEMBER.

MEMBERS ARE SUBJECTED TO

TENSION/COMPRESSION ONLY.

FORCES ARE APPLIED ON JOINTS ONLY.

USUALLY, MORE SIMPLE TO CALCULATE, MORE

WEIGHT EFFECTIVE.

THE FORCES ARE ACTING ALONG THE AXIS OF

THE MEMBER. IN ADDITION TO TRANSVERSE

FORCES.

ONE OR MORE THEN ONE MEMBER OF FRAME IS

SUBJECTED TO MORE THEN TWO FORCES.

(MULTIPLE FORCE MEMBERS)

AT LEAST ONE MEMBER IS SUBJECTED TO

BENDING, SHEAR OR TORSION.

FORCES MAY ACT ANYWHERE ON THE

MEMBERS.

USUALLY MORE SIMPLE TO MANUFACTURE

AND TO PLACE IN TIGHT LAYOUT.

Plain frames SPACE FRAMES DIFFERENCE B/W PLAIN FRAMES AND SPACE FRAME

PLAIN FRAMES

SPACE FRAMES

In plain frame truss m=2n-3, where m is total number of members and n is total number of joints.

In plain frame truss m=3n-6, where m is total number of members and n is total number of joints.

CLASSIFICATION

ACCORDING TO NUMBER OF GRID LAYERS ACCORDING TO CURVATURE

FLATCOVERS

BARRELVAULTS

SPHERICALDOMES

SINGLE-LAYER

DOUBLE-LAYER

TRIPLE-LAYER

•FLATCOVERS

•THESE STRUCTURES ARE COMPOSED OF PLANAR SUBSTRUCTURES. THE PLANE ARE CHANNELED

THROUGH THE HORIZONTAL BARS AND THE SHEAR FORCES ARE SUPPORTED BY THE DIAGONALS.

ACCORDING TO CURVATURE

•BARRELVAULTS

•THIS TYPE OF VAULT HAS A CROSS SECTIONOF A SIMPLE ARCH. USUALLY THIS TYPE OF SPACE

FRAME DOES NOT NEED TO USE TETRAHEDRAL MODULESORPYRAMIDSASAPARTOF

ITSBACKING.

HEYDER ALIYEV CENTRE BY ZAHA HADID

LOAD DISTRIBUTION

•SPHERICAL DOMES THESE DOMES USUALLY REQUIRE THE USE OF TETRAHEDRAL MODULES OR

PYRAMIDS AND ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FROM A SKIN.

CONSTRUCTION LAYERS OF DOUBLE BRACCED DOME

FREE FORM SPACE FRAME

SINGLE-LAYER -ALL ELEMENTS ARE LOCATED ON THE SURFACETOBEAPPROXIMATED.

ACCORDING TO GRID LAYERS

1.5 layer

DOUBLE-LAYER

•THE ELEMENTS ARE ORGANIZED IN TWO PARALLEL LAYERS WITH EACH

OTHERATACERTAINDISTANCEAPART. THE DIAGONAL BARS CONNECTING THE

NODES OF BOTH LAYERS IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS IN SPACE.

•DURING DESIGN STAGES TO UTILIZE TWO WAY SPANNING CAPACITY OD DLG

ASPECT RATION SHOULD NOT EXCEED 1.5:1.

TRIPLE-LAYER

•ELEMENTS ARE PLACED IN THREE PARALLEL LAYERS, LINKED BY THE DIAGONALS. THEY

ARE ALMOST ALWAYS FLAT. THIS SOLUTION IS TO DECREASE THE DIAGONAL MEMBERS

LENGTH.

JOINTS

• IN A SPACE FRAME,

CONNECTING JOINTS PLAY

AN IMPORTANTROLE, BOTH

FUNCTIONAL AND

ESTHETIC, WHICH DERIVES

FROM THEIR RATIONALITY

DURING CONSTRUCTION

AND AFTER COMPLETION.

•SINCE JOINTS HAVE A

DECISIVE EFFECT ON

THESTRENGTH AND

STIFFNESS OF THE

STRUCTURE AND COMPOSE

AROUND 20 TO 30 PERCENT

OF THE TOTAL WEIGHT,

JOINT DESIGN IS CRITICAL

TO SPACE FRAME ECONOMY

AND SAFETY .

MEMBER

• MEMBERS ARE AXIAL

ELEMENTS WITH CIRCULAR

OR RECTANGULAR

SECTIONS, ALL MEMBERS

CAN ONLY RESIST TENSION

OR COMPRESSION.

•THE SPACE GRID IS BUILT

OF RELATIVELY LONG

TENSION MEMBERS AND

SHORT COMPRESSION

MEMBERS. A TREND IS

VERY NOTICEABLE IN

WHICH THE STRUCTURAL

MEMBERS ARE LEFT

EXPOSED AS A PART OF THE

ARCHITECTURAL

EXPRESSION

SPACE FRAME COMPONENTS

TYPES OF SPACE FRAME CONNECTIONS

WELDED CONNECTION BOLTED CONNECTION THREADED CONNECTION

MERO SPACE FRAME STRUCTURES

•THE MERO CONNECTOR, INTRODUCED IN 1948 BY DR. MONGERINGHAUSEN, PROVED TO BE

EXTREMELY POPULAR AND HAS BEEN USED FOR NUMEROUS TEMPORARY AND PERMANENT

BUILDINGS.

•ITS JOINT CONSISTS OF A NODE THAT IS A SPHERICAL HOT-PRESSED STEEL FORGING WITH

FLAT FACETS AND TAPPED HOLES. MEMBERS ARE CIRCULAR HOLLOW SECTIONS WITH CONE-

SHAPED STEEL FORGINGS WELDED AT THE ENDS,WHICH ACCOMMODATE CONNECTING BOLTS.

SPHERICALHOT-PRESSEDSTEEL FORGING

•THE MERO CONNECTOR WAS ORIGINALLY DEVELOPED FOR DOUBLE-LAYER GRIDS. DUE TO THE

INCREASING USE OF NON-PLANAR ROOF FORMS, IT IS REQUIRED TO CONSTRUCT THE LOAD-BEARING

SPACE FRAME INTEGRATED WITH THE CLADDING ELEMENT.

•ANEW TYPEOF JOINTING SYSTEM CALLEDMEROPLUSSYSTEMWAS DEVELOPED SO THAT A VARIETY

OF CURVED AND FOLDED STRUCTURES ARE POSSIBLE.

SPACE FRAME METHOD OF ERECTION•THE METHOD CHOSEN FOR ERECTION OF A SPACE FRAME DEPENDS ON:

• ITS BEHAVIOR OF LOAD TRANSMISSION

•CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS, SO THAT IT WILL MEET THE OVER ALL REQUIREMENTS OF QUALITY,

SAFETY,SPEED OF CONSTRUCTION,AND ECONOMY

•THE SCALE OF THE STRUCTURE BEING BUILT,THE METHOD OF JOINTING THE INDIVIDUAL ELEMENTS,

AND THE STRENGTH AND RIGIDITY OF THE SPACE FRAME UNTIL ITS

FORMISCLOSEDMUSTALLBECONSIDERED.

SCAFFOLD METHOD •INDIVIDUAL ELEMENTS ARE ASSEMBLED IN PLACE AT ACTUAL ELEVATIONS, MEMBERS AND

JOINTS OR PREFABRICATED SUBASSEMBLY ELEMENTS ARE ASSEMBLED DIRECTLY ON THEIR

FINAL POSITION.

•FULL SCAFFOLDINGS ARE USUALLY REQUIRED FOR THIS TYPEOF ERECTION. SOMETIMES ONLY

PARTIAL SCAFFOLDINGS ARE USED IF CANTILEVER ERECTION OF SPACE FRAME

CANBEEXECUTED. THE ELEMENTS ARE FABRICATED AT THE SHOP AND TRANSPORTED TO THE

CONSTRUCTION SITE,AND NO HEAVY LIFTING EQUIPMENT IS REQUIRED.

BLOCK ASSEMBLY METHOD •THE SPACE FRAME IS DIVIDED ON ITS PLAN INTO INDIVIDUAL STRIPS OR BLOCKS. THESE UNITS

ARE FABRICATED ON THE GROUND LEVEL, THEN HOISTED UP INTO ITS FINAL POSITION AND

ASSEMBLED ON THE TEMPORARY SUPPORTS.

•WITH MORE WORK BEING DONE ON THE GROUND, THE AMOUNT OF ASSEMBLING WORKATHIGH

ELEVATION IS REDUCED. THIS METHOD IS SUITABLE FOR THOSE DOUBLE LAYER GRIDS WHERE THE

STIFFNESS AND LOAD-RESISTING BEHAVIOR WILL NOT CHANGE CONSIDERABLY AFTER DIVIDING

INTO STRIPS ORBLOCKS,SUCHAS TWO-WAY ORTHOGONAL LATTICED GRIDS,ORTHOGONAL SQUARE

PYRAMID SPACE GRIDS, AND THE THOSE WITH OPENINGS. THE SIZE OF EACH UNIT WILL DEPEND

ON THE HOISTING CAPACITY AVAILABLE.

LIFT UP METHOD

•THE WHOLE SPACE FRAME IS ASSEMBLED AT GROUND LEVEL SO THAT MOST OF THE WORK CAN

BE DONE BEFORE HOISTING. THIS WILL RESULT IN INCREASED EFFICIENCY AND BETTER QUALITY.

FOR SHORT AND MEDIUM SPANS, THE SPACE FRAME CAN BE HOISTED UP BY SEVERAL CRANES.

• FOR LONG-SPAN SPACE FRAME,TEMPORARY POSTS ARE USED AS THE SUPPORT AND ELECTRIC

WINCHES AS THE LIFTING POWER.THE WHOLE SPACE FRAME CAN BE TRANSLATED OR ROTATED IN

THE AIR AND THEN SEATED ON ITS FINAL POSITION. THIS METHOD CAN BE EMPLOYED TO ALL

TYPES OF DOUBLE-LAYER GRIDS.

GEOMETRIC DECODING OF SPACE FRAMES

•THE SPACE FRAME GRID GEOMETRY TAKES 5

GEOMETRIC OPERATIONS TO CREATED THE

CORRESPONDING GRID TO ULTIMATELY CREATED

A DOUBLE LAYER SPACE FRAME.

•THE VERTICES ON THE GRID(GI) ARE CONNECTED

TO IDENTIFY THE 3 DIMENSIONAL JOINT(3DN) AND

BY CONNECTING THE 3DN THE SEMI-REGULAR IS

CONSTRUCTED.

LASTLY,OVERLAY ALL OF THE SYATEMS, THE

STRUCTURAL MEMBERS OF THE SPACE FRAME.

HALL OF NATION PRAGATI MAIDAN

PRAGATI MAIDAN HALL NO-18